After you have decided to book your family session, the next question to answer is when is the best session time for your family? There are a few important things to consider when scheduling family pictures:
Morning or Afternoon/Evening
Photographers schedule sessions based on light. You don’t want your session at noon in a field because the sun will be very harsh. This will cause shadows and squinty eyes. It’s not that it can’t be done, it’s just not ideal. I recommend that my clients book their session in the early morning, 9am or earlier. Another option is in the afternoon/evening, depending on the season and everyone’s favorite: Daylight Savings.
Even though it may seem logistically challenging to schedule a morning session, there are definitely a lot of benefits. First, everyone is as well-rested as they can be (if you’re anything like me, you haven’t been well-rested since 2013, but I digress). Often the morning nap hasn’t needed to happen yet, so your littles are fresh and ready to go. You won’t have to spend the entire day looking at your phone to check the time and worrying about your kiddos getting dirty all day. And since you already know you’ll be thinking about it all day – just get it done! We’ll have a blast together and then you can go about your day. It will be such a relief to know that you checked a huge to-do list item off your mom list!
On the flip side, an afternoon/evening slot may be better for you if you have older kids and it won’t interfere with naptimes or bedtimes. The biggest benefit, in my opinion, to evening sessions is the sunset. If there is any chance your child could swing that by taking a later nap or some serious bribery, it’s always my vote! By booking an evening session, you’ll have more time to get ready during the day, also.
Weekend or Week Day
The only time I really feel opinionated about this is during fall photo sessions in Connecticut. In September and October, a lot of locations are absolutely packed with photographers and their clients on the weekend. If you want a more low-key session during the fall months, I would definitely recommend you try to book a weekday session if you can. In the late summer/early fall, the sunset is actually not until closer to 7pm in Connecticut. Because of this, you may get away with not having to take the afternoon off from work! It may also be easier to grab a hair or make-up appointment during the week. In spring and summer, weekends aren’t too bad at a lot of my most popular locations, so have no fear, we will make it happen no matter which day of the week you choose!
The Best Session Time, IMO
If I had to tell you the best session time, I would say a weekend sunset session in the summer/fall. The light is the best, the weather is great and temperatures are manageable. Food for thought!
All that being said, take a look at your calendar and consider what might be the best session time for your crew. Still unsure? Reach out to me, I’d love to chat with you!
